Puget Sound’s 125th Anniversary Enjoys a Landmark
Young scholars have captured 143 prestigious fellowships since 2000
TACOMA, Wash. – It’s one more reason that the number 125 is special this year. Students at University of Puget Sound have won a pile of national scholarships this spring, taking the number of such honors since the year 2000 over the 125 mark. The college could not have asked for a better 125th birthday present. Congratulations to all.
This year 22 students and recent alumni, competing with top students from across the country, were awarded a total of 24 national scholarships that will help pay for further study at home or for teaching, research, or study abroad in 2013–14. This takes Puget Sound students’ track record of winning national awards to 143 since 2000.
This year’s awards include the college’s first Luce in Asia scholarship; a Watson, Fulbright, and Goldwater award; ten French Government English Teaching Scholarships; four Spanish Government Teaching Assistantships; and Fulbright English Teaching, Princeton in Asia, Princeton in Latin America, and Austrian English Teaching scholarships. In addition at least one student secured a national Greek honor society scholarship.
For a liberal arts college with 2,600 undergraduate students and competing against hundreds of far larger universities, this is an impressive outcome.
“Some of the brightest and most talented young people you’ll find in American higher education apply for these awards each year,” said Sharon Chambers-Gordon, director of the Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowships. “So to see so many of our students and recent graduates recognized like this really is a testament to their drive and potential—and it’s a tribute to the great teaching and mentorship offered by our faculty. We wish the scholars a rewarding year ahead.”
The recent national awards include:
Luce Scholarship
Eryn Eby ’13 (Laos) Anchorage, AK
Watson Fellowship
Eryn Eby ’13, Anchorage, AK
Fulbright Research Scholarship
Maggie Shanahan ’13 (Mexico), Superior, CO
Goldwater Scholarship
Billy Rathje ’15, Lake Oswego, OR
Goldwater Honorable Mention
Kelton Mock ’15, Logan, UT
French Government English Teaching Scholarship
Erin Byrne ’13, Boulder, CO
Charlotte Dawkins ’13, Seattle, WA
Tina Clark ’13, Saratoga, CA.
Joanna Chapman ’13, Mercer Island, WA
Ida Poberezovsky ’13, San Mateo, CA
Zach Kotel ’12, Centennial, CO
Meg Pritchard ’13,Vancouver, WA
Dmitri Brown ’12, Evansville, IN
Jacob Gellman ’13, Vancouver, WA
Jessie Gauger '12, Portland, OR
French Government Alternates
Grant Harmsen ’13, Cherry Hills Villlage, CO
Becca Zavala ’13, Seattle, WA
Spanish Government Teaching Assistantships
Kelsey Johnson ’13, Pasco, WA
Gamachu Said ’13, Denver, CO
Amanda Schweikert ’13, Denver, CO
Abbey Yaron ’13, Boulder, CO
Fulbright English Teaching Scholarship
Peter Bittner ’12 (Mongolia), Acton, MA
Fulbright ETA Alternates
Peter Russell ’13 (Jordan), Beavercreek, OR
Ida Poberezovsky ’13 (France), San Mateo, CA
Princeton in Asia Fellowship
Charles Nguyen ’13 (Singapore), Salem, OR
Princeton in Latin America Fellowship
Katherine Buckley ’11 (Panama), Nevada City, CA
Austria English Teaching Scholarship
Allyson Hale ’11 (Austria), Regensburg, Germany
Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society Scholarship
Bailey Bartelt ’14, Mount Vernon, WA
The students’ success was supported by Puget Sound faculty and staff, by the enriching experiences offered by Tacoma, and by the encouragement of family and friends. The process of selecting applicants is coordinated by the Graduate Fellowships Advisory Committee, which conducts campus interviews and vets candidates’ applications.
Members of the committee include fellowships director Sharon Chambers-Gordon; Greta Austin in religion; Martin Jackson, associate dean, mathematics; Monica DeHart in comparative sociology; Katherine Smith in history, Amy Spivey in physics; and Seth Weinberger in politics and government. Other faculty members who worked with the scholarship winners include Diane Kelley and Michel Rocchi, both in foreign languages and literature, the Spanish language faculty in foreign languages and literature, and Phi Eta Sigma faculty adviser Alison Paradise, in mathematics and computer science.
In addition many faculty on and off campus provided indispensable assistance by acting as research advisors and mentors, and by writing letters of recommendation on the students’ behalf.
Puget Sound's fellowshipsoffice coordinates the application, interview, evaluation, and nomination process for qualified Puget Sound students. For more information contact Sharon Chambers-Gordon at 253.879.3329 or scgordon@pugetsound.edu.
Photo on page: National scholarship winners with fellowships director Sharon Chambers-Gordon. Photo by Ross Mulhausen.
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